Riley homers as Braves beat D-backs
Mariner breaks foot, feels really bad
ATLANTA — Austin Riley hit a three-run homer off Miguel Castro in the eighth inning, and the major league-leading Atlanta Braves stopped a four-game skid with a 7-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday.
Matt Olson hit two more homers for Atlanta, raising his NL-best total to 32. Orlando Arcia also connected.
Riley followed Michael Harris II’s double and Ozzie Albies’ walk with his fourth homer of the three-game series and 20th of the season, putting Atlanta (62-33) ahead 6-5. Riley has homered in three straight games four times in his big league career.
Dominic Canzone and Emmanuel Rivera hit back-to-back homers for Arizona, which won the first two games in the series, in the seventh against Spencer Strider.
ORIOLES 4, RAYS 3 (10 inn.): In St. Petersburg, Fla., Colton Cowser hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning, and AL East-leading Baltimore won the opener of a four-game series between the American League’s top teams.
Baltimore started the day in first place for the first time after the All-Star break since Aug, 15, 2016. The Orioles, who started July 6½ games back, now have a one-game lead.
Tampa Bay has lost five in a row. It is tied with Pittsburgh for the majors’ worst July record at 3-12.
ASTROS 3, A’s 1: In Oakland, Calif., rookie J.P. France struck out five while pitching into the eighth inning for the first time this season to win his third straight decision, Kyle Tucker hit a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth, and Houston beat the A’s. Albuquerque native Alex Bregman homered in the ninth to help secure the win for France (5-3).
CARDINALS 7, CUBS 2: In Chicago, Jordan Walker and Paul DeJong each hit a two-run homer, and St. Louis earned its sixth straight victory.
Marcus Stroman (10-7) pitched just 3 2/3 innings in possibly his final home start for the Cubs. The right-hander was charged with five runs — four earned — and seven hits. Stroman could be one of the top pitchers on the market ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline.
BREWERS 4, PHILLIES 0: In Philadelphia, Corbin Burnes struck out 10 in eight innings, leading Milwaukee to the victory. Christian Yelich hit a threerun homer as Milwaukee closed out a 5-1 trip through Cincinnati and Philadelphia.
The Phillies finished with two hits.
MARINERS 5, TWINS 0: In Seattle, George Kirby matched his career high with 10 strikeouts over seven innings, helping the Mariners to the victory
Teoscar Hernández and Mike Ford homered as Seattle earned a split of the four-game set.
REDS 5, GIANTS 1: In Cincinnati, Andrew Abbott pitched a career-high eight innings and Luke Maile homered, sending Cincinnati to its second straight win. The Reds salvaged a split of the four-game set.
BLUE JAYS 4, PADRES 0: In Toronto, Chris Bassitt combined with three relievers on a six-hitter, and the Blue Jays avoided a three-game sweep.
Padres left-hander Blake Snell (6-8), a possible trade target ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline, allowed one run in five innings. He struck out four and walked seven, matching his career worst.
WHITE SOX 6, METS 2: In New York, Yasmani Grandal started a four-run sixth inning with a tworun double that followed Pete Alonso’s error, and the White Sox spoiled José Quintana’s Mets debut.
Quintana (0-1), a 34-year-old left-hander who pitched for the White Sox from 2012-17, signed a $26 million, two-year contract with the Mets as a free agent, then fractured a rib during spring training. He allowed two runs and six hits in five innings.
TIGERS 3, ROYALS 0: In Kansas City, Mo, Michael Lorenzen tossed seven innings of threehit ball, and Detroit wrapped up another series win against its AL Central rival.
Notes
MARINERS: Outfielder Jarred Kelenic was placed on the 10-day injured list on Thursday, a day after he kicked a water cooler and broke a bone in his left foot following a ninth-inning strikeout during a loss to Minnesota.
Kelenic was apologetic, fighting through tears for letting his emotions get out of hand and expressing his frustration.
“I just feel terrible, especially for the guys,” Kelenic said. “I just let the emotions get the best of me and I just let them down and take full responsibility for it. It’s on me. It just can’t happen.”
Seattle manager Scott Servais said Kelenic will be out for an extended period.